TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Introduction
1.1 The website searchmadeeasy.co.za (the “Platform”) is privately owned (hereinafter referred to as "SME," "we," "our," or "us"). The terms set out herein are entered into by and between SME and the Vendor/User. Any reference to "SME," "we," "our," "Platform," or "us" shall include our employees, officers, directors, representatives, agents, related entities, advisers, sub-contractors, service providers, and suppliers.
1.2 These terms, including any documents incorporated by reference herein (collectively, the "Terms"), apply to any Vendor/User who uses any one or more of the Services, accesses, refers to, views, and/or downloads any information or material made available on the Platform for any purpose (hereinafter referred to as “User,” "you," or "your").
1.3 Your use of this website constitutes your agreement to be bound by these terms and conditions. This website, including all of its features and content (this “Website”), is a service made available by SME (hereinafter referred to as "the Provider"). All content, information, and services provided on or through this Website may be used solely under the following terms and conditions. By accessing and/or using the Platform after the Effective Date, you signify that you have read, understood, accepted, and agree to be bound by these Terms, both in your individual capacity and on behalf of any entity for whom you use the Platform.
1.4 To the extent permitted by applicable law, we may modify these Terms with prospective effect without prior notice to you. Any revisions to the Terms will take effect when posted on the Platform. Such modifications will require your acceptance before you continue using the Platform, and will be considered as your consent to the amended or updated Terms. Your only remedy, should you not agree to these Terms, is to refuse acceptance of the amended or updated Terms, which will prevent your use of the Platform.
Terminology
2.1 “Browser” shall mean any person who visits any page of the Platform, whether by landing on the home page or any other page through the use of a hyperlink from another website or by direct access to the Platform, and who has no intention of using, or does not use, the Services offered by us.
2.2 “Business Days” shall mean any days that are not a Saturday, Sunday, or a gazetted public holiday in the Republic of South Africa, during working hours.
2.3 “Vendor” also referred to as a supplier, shall mean the Browser who completes the Registration Process on the Platform in order to make use of the Services. This refers to a person or business entity that uses this Platform to advertise their products and/or services to the public.
2.4 “Goods” shall mean the products and/or services made available to a User for purchase from the Vendor, and which shall include, but are not limited to, goods and/or services related to the area of retail or services provided by the Vendor.
2.5 "Party” or “Parties” shall mean "Developers of the Platform" and/or the Vendor/User, as the context implies.
2.6 “Personal Information” shall mean the personal information required from the User in order to register for the services rendered by this Platform.
2.7 “Registration Process” refers to the process that a Browser must follow on our Platform in order to enable the Vendor to use the Services, thereby making the transition from a Browser to a Vendor.
2.8 “Services” shall refer to the services provided by us to the User, as set out in Clause 4 below.
2.9 “Terms” shall mean these Terms of Service.
2.10 “User” shall mean the Browser who uses this website to search for any advertised Goods.
2.11 Any use of the above terminology or other words in the singular, plural, capitalization, and/or "he/she," "they," "your," or "you," shall be taken as interchangeable and, therefore, referring to the same.
Your Agreement to These Terms
3.1 Subject to, and based on, the Vendor’s and User’s acceptance of these Terms, we grant you a limited, revocable, non-transferable license to access and use the Platform in accordance with the various policies and agreements that may govern such use and access.
Description of Our Services
4.1 This Platform operates primarily as an advertising medium for Vendors, enabling them to upload and showcase their Goods for the exclusive purpose of public advertisement. It is important to note that this Platform does not engage in any aspect of the transactional process between a potential client (User) and the Vendor at any stage. Our role is strictly limited to serving as an intermediary by facilitating the public visibility of the Vendor's products or services. We do not process, handle, or manage any payments related to Goods exchanged between Vendors and their clients. Furthermore, we do not act as an agent for any Vendor in relation to financial transactions. We do not provide advice regarding the Goods, nor do we guarantee, store, or accept returns of any Goods listed by the Vendor. Our Platform’s involvement is solely in the promotion of Goods for advertisement purposes, and we are not involved in any part of the purchasing or transaction process between the Vendor and the User.
4.2 Upon activation of Stage 2 of the Platform, it offers a public service on behalf of the Vendors, where members of the public are granted the ability to search for specific Goods they may be interested in. If a User finds a particular product or service, they will be able to view the contact details of the corresponding Vendor, provided the Vendor has selected to make their contact details publicly available on the Platform. Any further communication or negotiations regarding the Goods, including potential transactions, will occur directly between the Vendor and the User, without the involvement or mediation of SEARCH MADE EASY. It is expressly understood that any discussions, agreements, or transactions that may arise between the Vendor and the User are independent of this Platform, and SEARCH MADE EASY assumes no responsibility or liability for any such interactions.
Registration Process
5.1 To register as a Vendor, you will, through the Registration Process, be prompted to provide login details as well as submit certain Business/Company Information.
5.2 After submission of the above details, a verification email will be sent. The Vendor must click the link provided in this email to verify the given email address.
5.3 No account will be allowed without a verified email address.
5.4 Only one email address per Vendor account can be used.
5.5 Once the email is verified, the Vendor will be allowed to log in using the provided details.
5.6 If a Vendor believes that their login details are being used by someone else, they should contact us immediately at
or call us at
087 265 8904 or
087 265 4935.
Purchase of Goods
6.1 This Platform does not facilitate the purchasing of Goods.
6.2 When a User has searched for and found Goods they are interested in, they can view the Vendor's details by clicking on the button provided. The User will need to contact the Vendor directly through means available to them to make an enquiry, request a quote, and/or purchase the Goods.
6.3 We do not contact the Vendor on your behalf, nor do we communicate with the Vendor regarding a possible purchase in any way. We do not act as an intermediary between the Vendor and the User in any form.
6.4 From the point of interest in any Goods onwards, we do not participate in any part of the process, including quoting, purchasing, payment, returns, assistance, advice, or any other aspect thereof.
Payment for Goods
7.1 We do not accept any payment for Goods advertised on this Platform.
7.2 We do not process or participate in any stage of payment for Goods as advertised by Vendors on this Platform.
Subscription
8.1 SME operates on a prepaid subscription model offering four flexible billing cycles: monthly, quarterly, biannual, or annual payment options.
8.2 Subscription payments only commence when phase two of our Platform launch becomes active.
• 8.2.1 Phase one provides vendors with a preparation period to upload their product and service information.
• 8.2.2 Phase two marks the official launch when the SEARCH MADE EASY Platform becomes fully searchable and accessible to the general public.
• 8.2.3 All vendor activities during phase one are complimentary, with the exception of professional product details upload services provided by SEARCH MADE EASY staff.
8.2 On phase two, prepayment of your subscription is required for your products and services to become visible and searchable to users.
8.3 Upon subscription expiration, your business listing, products, and service details will become invisible and unsearchable, though your account will remain active for up to three months thereafter.
8.4 Vendors are responsible for the complete subscription period fee, regardless of when during that period the subscription is updated or modified.
8.5 Subscription renewal payments must be received by the 5th business day of each billing cycle.
8.6 Late payments will result in your listings becoming temporarily invisible and unsearchable until payment is received.
8.7 Non-payment for three consecutive months will result in permanent account deletion without prior notification.
8.8 SEARCH MADE EASY utilizes secure payment services of both Payfast and Yoco, accepting the following payment methods:
• 8.8.1 Apple Pay
• 8.8.2 Google Pay
• 8.8.3 Major credit and debit cards including Mastercard, Visa, and American Express
• 8.8.4 Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) for major South African banks: FNB, Investec, Nedbank, Standard Bank, and Tyme Bank
8.9 Refunds for prepaid subscriptions are not available for vendor accounts active for less than one month. For inquiries, please contact
8.10 Vendors may terminate their subscription at any time by deleting their account via their vendor dashboard or by submitting a cancellation request to
8.11 These terms may be updated periodically, and vendors are responsible for staying informed of any modifications.
8.12 SME accepts no liability for unauthorized payment disputes or reversals between users and vendors.
SME’s Assistance
9.1 SME will use its best endeavours to provide Vendor support to assist the Vendor in resolving any issues that may arise from using this Platform.
9.2 However, SME does not offer support nor will we get involved in any disputes of any kind between the Vendor and the User at any stage or part of the purchasing process for Goods viewed by the User on this Platform.
9.3 The onus shall rest on the Vendor for the final resolution of any disputes between itself and the User regarding any transaction for Goods supplied and/or purchased.
Prohibited Activities
10.1 The Vendor and User may not use this Platform to attempt or perform any of the activities outlined in this clause 10. Each activity, considered in isolation, is termed a "prohibited activity":
10.1.1 Violation of any laws, statutes, ordinances, or regulations;
10.1.2 Undertaking, initiating, aiding, or abetting criminal activity of any kind, including but not limited to malicious hacking, illegal gambling operations, money laundering, or the financing of terrorism or terrorist activity;
10.1.3 Any objectionable or unlawful purpose, including posting threatening, libellous, defamatory, obscene, scandalous, inflammatory, pornographic, profane, or spam material, as well as unsolicited advertising, bulk e-mailing of commercial advertisements, sending chain mails, requesting charity donations, calling for petition signatures, or publishing informational announcements;
10.1.4 Taking any action, including but not limited to those listed above, that imposes an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on the platform’s infrastructure, including spam or other unsolicited mass e-mailing techniques (whether automated or not);
10.1.5 Using this Platform for any illegal purpose or in violation of any national or international law or other applicable legislation, including laws relating to tax payment and privacy, as well as any obligations a Vendor or User may owe to third parties;
10.1.6 Posting content that contravenes a confidentiality or non-disclosure agreement, insider trading laws, or intellectual property rights the Vendor or User is not authorized to transfer to another party;
10.1.7 Conducting any activity that compromises or breaches another party’s patent rights, trademarks, copyrights, or other intellectual property rights;
10.1.8 Misleading or deceiving others through any act or omission, or making a false representation about any party’s identity, including impersonating a real or fictitious person or entity, or using an alternative identity or pseudonym;
10.1.9 Using this Platform to harass, abuse, defame, threaten, instigate, or initiate any action that may be viewed as harmful or unlawful against a third party or entity;
10.1.10 Using this Platform to obtain personal information of other Users, Vendors, or SME without consent;
10.1.11 Using this Platform as a front for a debt collection agency or banking institution;
10.1.12 Depositing funds into, or in any other manner supporting, pyramid schemes, Ponzi schemes, matrix programmes, “get rich quick” schemes, multi-level marketing programmes, high-yield investment programmes, or any cause that may be seen as obscene, defamatory, libellous, threatening, pornographic, hateful, or racially offensive;
10.1.13 Using this Platform as a front or alter ego to receive fraudulent funds, or what SME perceives to be fraudulent funds;
10.1.14 Using this Platform in a manner that is, or may be perceived as, an abuse or violation of this Platform or the rules that govern it;
10.1.15 Using this Platform as a vehicle to provide itself or assist third parties in obtaining cash advances from a credit card;
10.1.16 Using this Platform in a manner that facilitates a transfer between two banking accounts owned by the same person and held in the same name;
10.1.17 Using this Platform to control linked accounts that are, have been, or may be engaged in the above activities;
10.1.18 Using this Platform in an abusive manner that results in complaints, disputes, payment reversals, chargebacks, fees, fines, penalties, and other liabilities to SME, a User, a third party, or a Vendor;
10.1.19 Introducing any virus, worm, Trojan horse, malicious code, or other programs that may damage computers or other computer-based equipment on the Platform or in relation to this Platform;
10.1.20 Crawling, spidering, or scraping content is prohibited, except as required by recognized search engines (e.g., Google) for the purpose of indexing the Platform;
10.1.21 Removing or altering SME’s copyright notices or other means of identification, including any watermarks, as they appear on the Platform;
10.1.22 Distributing or publishing any part of the information or content included on this Platform on any publicly accessible electronic network, including but not limited to the internet and the World Wide Web, Facebook, YouTube, or otherwise publishing, broadcasting, or displaying such information in public in a manner that casts SME in a negative light.
10.2 In the event that SME suspects a Vendor or User is acting, or assisting a third party to act, in violation of the above, SME reserves the right to collect evidence to prove or disprove such activities. This evidence may include, but is not limited to, IP addresses, business names, telephone numbers, and e-mail addresses.
Limitation on Goods advertised by the Vendor
11.1 The following items shall not be recognized as Goods by SME and, accordingly, may not be sold through the use of this Website:
11.1.1 Live insects or animals;
11.1.2 Shipments of materials prohibited by national, provincial, or local law;
11.1.3 The sale of alcohol, narcotics, controlled substances, and the paraphernalia associated with them;
11.1.4 Any item that may be interpreted as an infringement of intellectual property rights;
11.1.5 Adult entertainment services, escort services, or any services of a sexual nature;
11.1.6 Adult-only products including but not limited to sexually explicit materials, adult toys, or content restricted to persons over 18 years of age;
11.1.7 Weapons, firearms, ammunition, explosives, or any items designed to cause harm;
11.1.8 Stolen goods or items obtained through illegal means;
11.1.9 Counterfeit, replica, or fraudulent items;
11.1.10 Items that promote hate speech, discrimination, or violence;
11.1.11 Tobacco products and smoking-related paraphernalia;
11.1.12 Prescription medications and medical devices requiring professional authorization;
11.1.13 Items that violate privacy rights, including surveillance equipment intended for illegal monitoring;
11.1.14 Unauthorized Financial services the would require specific licensing (loans, investments, insurance products);
11.1.15 Any other goods or services that SME, at its sole discretion, deems inappropriate for the platform.
Limitation of Liability and Indemnity
12.1 This Platform is used entirely at the Vendor’s and the User’s own risk.
12.2 The Vendor and the User hereby indemnify SME and agree to keep SME indemnified against any claim, loss, damage, cost, or expense that the Vendor or User may suffer or incur as a result of, or in connection with, their use of this website or their conduct in relation to it. This includes any breach of SME's Terms or any applicable law or licensing requirements by the Vendor or User.
12.3 To the extent that SME’s liability cannot be excluded by law, our maximum liability—whether in contract, equity, statute, or delict (including negligence)—to the Vendor or User will be limited to the minimum amount imposed by such law.
12.4 Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in these Terms, SME shall not be liable for any indirect, punitive, or consequential loss or damage, including loss of income, profits, goodwill, data, contracts, or the use of money, or any loss or damage arising for any reason whatsoever, whether in delict, contract, or otherwise.
12.5 SME shall not be liable for delays, interruptions, service failures, or other problems caused by the use of the internet and electronic devices and communications beyond its reasonable control.
12.6 Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, SME makes no warranty that this website will meet either the Vendor’s or the User’s requirements, or that it will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error-free. SME does not guarantee that defects in the website will be corrected, nor that it will be virus-free.
12.7 Both the Vendor and the User acknowledge that access to this website may be restricted occasionally due to necessary updates and maintenance being carried out on the website.
12.8 Except for any express warranties in SME's Terms, this website is provided on an "as is" basis, and both the Vendor and the User use it at their own risk.
12.9 SME makes no other warranties, express or implied, statutory or otherwise, including but not limited to warranties of merchantability, title, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement.
Confidentiality
13.1 Confidential Information refers to any documents or information created, received, or obtained from SME, as well as any information relating to SME, including non-public information related to SME’s business (such as, but not limited to, pricing information, information about related entities, the identity of Vendors, and any content marked as confidential or reasonably considered confidential due to its nature) (“Confidential Information”). This information must remain strictly confidential.
13.2 The Vendor and User may not disclose, solicit, make available, or misappropriate any Confidential Information, trade secrets, or other proprietary information belonging to any third party without that party’s prior written permission, or in violation of any express or implied duty or contractual right.
13.3 If a Vendor or User is legally required to disclose Confidential Information, they must inform the third party who disclosed the Confidential Information as soon as reasonably practicable and consult with that party before disclosing any of their Confidential Information.
13.4 The Vendor and/or User shall notify SME immediately upon becoming aware of a suspected or actual breach of this confidentiality obligation.
13.5 SME will not disclose or make available any Vendor’s Confidential Information to any third party, directly or indirectly, except where SME has the Vendor’s permission, where the Confidential Information is already in the public domain (through no breach of these Terms), to facilitate the Vendor’s use of this website, to enforce these Terms, or if legally compelled to do so.
General
14.1 Our failure to enforce any provision of SME's Terms shall not constitute a waiver of such provision. Furthermore, any consent to depart from SME's Terms shall be ineffective unless confirmed in writing and signed by us.
14.2 Any present or future legislation that varies an obligation, right, power, or remedy of a person in connection with these Terms is excluded, except to the extent that its exclusion is prohibited or rendered ineffective by law.
14.3 The rights, powers, and remedies provided to us in SME's Terms are cumulative and not exclusive of the rights, powers, or remedies provided by law independently of SME's Terms.
14.4 SME's Terms constitute the entire agreement concerning the provision of SME's services. The Vendor acknowledges and agrees that it has not relied on any representations by SME, except those contained in SME's Terms.
14.5 The laws of the Republic of South Africa shall apply to these Terms.
14.6 Any claims, legal proceedings, or litigation arising in connection with these Terms shall be subject solely to the jurisdiction of the courts of the Republic of South Africa.
14.7 SME may assign or novate any of our rights or obligations under these Terms without a Vendor’s or User’s consent. A Vendor and/or User may not assign or novate any of their rights.
14.8 If any provision herein is held to be unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect.
Application of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002 (“ECT Act”)
15.1 Data messages (as defined in the ECT Act) will be deemed to have been received by SME when SME responds to the data messages.
15.2 Data messages sent by SME to a Vendor or User will be deemed to have been received by the Vendor or User, as applicable, in accordance with the provisions specified in section 23(b) of the ECT Act.
15.3 Vendors acknowledge that electronic signatures, encryption, and/or authentication are not required for valid electronic communications between the Vendor, a User, and SME.
Information to be Provided in Terms of Section 43(1) of the ECT Act
16.1 The Vendor and User warrant that any data messages sent to SME from any electronic device used by them, from time to time, were sent and/or authorized by the respective user personally.
Removal of Offensive Content
17.1 For the avoidance of doubt, this paragraph applies to any person who accesses Our Platform for any purpose.
17.2 We are under no obligation to monitor or record the activity of any user of Our Platform for any purpose, nor do we assume any responsibility to monitor or police Internet-related activities.
However, we may choose to do so without notice or providing a reason.
17.3 If you are offended by any content, the following procedure applies:
17.3.1 Your claim or complaint must be submitted to us using the form available on Our Platform or contain the same information as requested in our form. It may be sent to us by or email.
17.3.2 We shall remove the offending content as soon as we are reasonably able.
17.3.3 After receiving notice of a claim or complaint, we will investigate it to the extent that we decide is necessary.
17.3.4 We may choose to reinstate the content about which you have complained, or we may not.
17.4 In respect of any complaint made by you or anyone on your behalf, whether using our complaint form or not, you irrevocably grant us a license to publish the complaint and all ensuing correspondence and communication, without limitation.
17.5 You agree that, should any complaint be found to be frivolous and/or vexatious, you will be held liable for the costs of our investigation, including legal fees, if any.
Our Disclaimers
18.1 Our Platform contains links to other websites on the Internet. We have no control over such websites. You acknowledge and agree that we are not liable in any way for the content of any linked websites, nor for any loss or damage arising from your use of such websites.
18.2 We are not liable under any circumstances for special, indirect, or consequential damages, or any damages resulting from the loss of use, loss of data, or loss of revenue or profits, whether in an action of contract, negligence, or otherwise, arising out of or in connection with your use of Our Platform.
18.3 The SME Platform and SME Services are provided “as is.” We make no representation or warranty of any kind, express or implied, including, without limitation, any warranty that either of them will be:
18.3.1 of satisfactory quality;
18.3.2 fit for a particular purpose;
18.3.3 available or accessible without interruption or error;
18.4 With regard to any Goods you have viewed on Our Platform, we are not liable for:
18.4.1 whether a product or service complies with the requirements of any law or its availability;
18.4.2 the Vendor's performance of their contract.
18.5 You expressly release us from any and all claims and liabilities, known and unknown, arising in any way from a dispute between you and a Vendor.
Guidelines for Reviews
We may provide areas on the Services where you can leave reviews or ratings. When posting a review, you must comply with the following criteria:
1. You should have firsthand experience with the person/entity being reviewed;
2. Your reviews should not contain offensive profanity or abusive, racist, offensive, or hateful language;
3. Your reviews should not contain discriminatory references based on religion, race, gender, national origin, age, marital status, sexual orientation, or disability;
4. Your reviews should not contain references to illegal activity;
5. You should not be affiliated with competitors when posting negative reviews;
6. You should not make any conclusions regarding the legality of conduct;
7. You may not post false or misleading statements; and
8. You may not organize a campaign encouraging others to post reviews, whether positive or negative.
We may accept, reject, or remove reviews at our sole discretion. We have no obligation to screen or delete reviews, even if someone finds them objectionable or inaccurate. Reviews are not endorsed by us and do not necessarily represent our opinions or the views of our affiliates or partners. We do not assume liability for any review or for any claims, liabilities, or losses resulting from any review. By posting a review, you hereby grant us a perpetual, non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, fully paid, assignable, and sublicensable right and license to reproduce, modify, translate, transmit by any means, display, perform, and/or distribute all content related to your review.
Vendor Product Placement
You agree that you will:
20.1 Not place any product for sale that is not of merchantable quality, or which requires a level of technical expertise for setup or use that is not fully explained to the customer before purchase.
20.2 Immediately remove from sale on Our Platform any product that, for any reason, you are unable to supply.
20.3 Not repost any product that we have removed from sale.
How We Handle Vendor Content
21.1 If you post content to any public area of this website, it becomes available in the public domain. We have no control over who sees it or what anyone does with it.
21.2 You irrevocably authorize us to publish feedback, comments, and ratings about your goods through this website, even if such feedback may be defamatory or critical.
21.3 We will use this license only for the commercial purposes of the business of this website and will cease using it after a commercially reasonable period of time.
21.4 Posting content of any kind does not change your ownership of the copyright in that content. We have no claim over it and will not protect your rights on your behalf.
21.5 You understand that you are personally responsible for any breach of someone else's intellectual property rights, defamation, or any law, which may occur as a result of content posted by you.
21.6 You accept all risks and responsibility for determining whether any content is in the public domain and not confidential.
21.7 Please notify us of any security breach or unauthorized use of your account.
Commencement & Termination
22.1 These SME Terms will commence on the date you subscribe to our services (the "Effective Date") and will remain in effect for as long as you continue to use SME's services.
Reservation of Rights
23.1 SME reserves the right to terminate its services, as outlined in SME’s Terms, at its sole discretion, and to refuse the Vendor any and all future use of this website if the Vendor or User (as applicable) is found to be in breach of these Terms and Conditions.